Jenson Button hails Ross Brawn as Honda's "saviour" after 2007 F1 "disaster"

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Jenson Button has reflected on the tumultuous period at Honda during the 2007 and 2008 Formula 1 seasons, hailing the arrival of Ross Brawn as the team's "saviour".

Speaking to Tom Clarkson during an appearance on the F1 Beyond The Grid podcast, the 2009 world champion opened up about the struggles that the Japanese manufacturer faced following his maiden F1 victory at the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix.

Rather than capitalising on the momentum, the team suffered an unexpected decline in performance the next year.

Button described the 2007 season as an absolute disaster. "We expected so much out of 2007, and it just was a disaster," he said. "It really was. Our junior team, Super Aguri, had our 2006 car, so they were beating us. That car had won a race, and we were driving something that we couldn't even get into the points with."

But the arrival of Brawn resulted in a shift within the team. "So, that was a tough year. And then it was more when Ross turned up at the end of 2007. That was the moment that it's like, 'Oh, this is going to turn around,'" the Briton added.

"And you felt the mood shift. A team that had won a race suddenly was so bad in 2007, it needed that kick-start again."

Rubens Barrichello, Brawn GP, Jenson Button, Brawn GP, Ross Brawn, Brawn GP Team Principal

Rubens Barrichello, Brawn GP, Jenson Button, Brawn GP, Ross Brawn, Brawn GP Team Principal